LEXINGTON, Ky. — With 2,194 new cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday, Kentucky has again broken its record for new cases reported in a week.
The new cases put the week's total 3,766 new cases above the previous weekly record, according to the office of Gov. Andy Beshear.
"This upcoming holiday week is a special time for all of our families, and I know everyone wants to have a normal Thanksgiving after such a difficult year," Beshear in Sunday's announcement. "I wish more than anything that we could go back to normal safely, but we can't. In order to protect our only line of health care workers and all of our fellow Kentuckians, keep gatherings small (eight people or fewer and two households at most), wear a mask, wash your hands and stay six feet apart."
Four new deaths from COVID-19 were also reported Sunday. The deaths included a 78-year-old man from Daviess County, an 88-year-old man from McCracken County and a 62-year-old woman from Ohio County, according to Beshear's office.
New requirements to help curb the spread of COVID-19 were recently put into place to restrict indoor gatherings at restaurants, bars and indoor fitness centers.
The positivity rate was 9.19% as of Sunday, and there 1,533 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to Beshear's office. There were 389 people in intensive care units, and 208 people on ventilators.
"If we have a major surge of COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving, our hospitals will simply not have the capacity to give everyone the care they need," Beshear said. "Nothing is worth that risk."
